Which fish need bled out

[Tail Chaser]

Which fish should be bled out ASAP.
Heard all sharks do. Leapards, Makos, etc
What about WSB?
Just heard Yellow Tail should be?
What about Dorado?
Albi's?
Halibuts dont?
Swordfish?
Barracuda?
Sand Bass?
Calico Bass?
Lingcod?
Thats aboult all I fish for.
If they are going to die. Might as well make the best meal possible.
Thanks in advance for the imfo
Just saw the post from smokehound. (for the newbs of cleaning fish)
Good imfo there.

[rusty6]

i bleed all fish that i catch, i find it makes them taste just a little better.

[Ingrowntoenail]

Now thats a fantastic question for begginers like me! I would love to here more about this bleedding thing....... why? how? when?

[Tail Chaser]

Ive read on the Leopards, That you thump them in the head first.
(Cruel otherwise) Then cut from the gillplate down underneith to the other gillplate. Basically gillplate to gillplate? Leos are to cool to kill though.
Are most of the gamefish bled this way?

Hey Ingrown,
Not bleeding out the fish. The blood can/will get into, and darkin the meat. Making it taste fishy, or sometimes taste pissy on some fish.
Sooo.... Sooner is better.

[n1ckxlam]

shark meat needs to be soaked in brine to expell the urine they would naturally remove through their skin while they were alive.
being bled is one thing, but shark meat and rays definitely have to be soaked in brine.
larger pelagic fish int he mackerel family should to be bled out (rip one of the gills out while its still alive).
Yellowtail is based on preference, i personally dont, but i know people that do.
albis could be bled, but they bleed so much when they are gaffed that it usually does the job.
halibut no
barries, preference (again i dont but know people that do)
all bass and lingcod are both no's

I dont know about wsb, but theyre in the croaker family so i would venture to guess that there would not be a need to bleed them.

Nick

[n1ckxlam]

To bleed any fish they need to be alive. When they die, the blood begins to coagulate along the spine and in areas of dark meat. When this happens it can bitter the meat or make it smell really fishy.
Washing it out with water is bad for the meat too, so dont try to do that if you have unbled meat. The water will wash away a lot of the oils that the good flavor and taste come from. Not to mention the nutrients and omega3 fatty acids that fish are famously known for. From personal experience, fish that is washed out with water also comes out drier.

Solution?
Well if you are going to bleed the fish it should be done while is alive, or ASAP. Alot of people try to stab or lacerate the fish under the "chin" of the fish in the triangle spot between where the gills begin and the pectoral and pelvic fins. This is where the heart of the fish is and where most of the blood goes through.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/n1ckxlam/bleedspot.jpg

Also, you can slide a knife under the gill plate and seperate the gills from the "chest" of the fish.
My favorite way is to just grab one of the gills and to rip it completely out.
I have heard of people that when they have the time will hold the fish up right diagonally in a 45 degree angle, tail up head down, so the blood can drain from the tail along the spine and from the upper sections of the meat (picture a fish swimming downward and just hold it that way). If you hold it completely straight tail up head down, the blood will collect in the "shoulder" of the fish in front of the spiny dorsal fin, which in my opinion is some of the best meat.

The deckies will bleed the fish by just ripping the gills out and throwing it in the hold. This works just as well because the heart is not cut and is still able to pump blood. The fish will continue flopping around in the hold while the heart pumps the blood right out through the broken gill. probably the best way, but its messy as hell.

anatomy taken from http://floridafisheries.com/Fishes/anatomy.html

Nick Lam

[Baseballer44]

Thanks for the tips Nick

[Tail Chaser]

Thanks Nick,
Great imfo :thumb: